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About

Data portal

In 2003 a scientist of the Museum observed the praying mantis for the first time in Luxembourg. This insect species commonly found in the Mediterranean has since spread to other parts of Luxembourg. By recording occurrences of mantis and other wild species in a shared database system, scientists of the Museum and other organisations create a common resource base to track species distributions, predict probable responses to environmental change and identify the most effective policies for the conservation and sustainable use of species. The database of the Museum holds over 1,7 million species occurrence records and 100.000 records of specimens from the collections of the Museum (plants, animals, fossils, minerals). Despite this large volume of data, the inventory of the biodiversity in Luxembourg is, however, far from complete.

How you can participate

Our actions encourages citizens to look out for specific species that were formerly more common or for species that are becoming invasive and to record their observations via online data entry forms. More experienced naturalists may enter their observations via specific data entry forms.

What are the data used for?

The data recorded online are verified by experts before they are transferred into the main biodiversity database of the Museum. These data allow us to draw distribution maps of species and to find out whether species have been declining. Data serve to define national and international nature protection areas. They are also an invaluable resource for scientific studies, for example the effect of climate change on species survival, the threat of invasive species, the link between biodiversity and agriculture and the connection between biodiversity and human health.

Access to data

You may access the data in our biodiversity map portal map.mnhn.lu. The Museum also participates and shares data in international projects such www.bio-gre.eu a thematic portal on the distribution of European-wide protected species in the Greater Region or the global biodiversity information facility www.gbif.org showcasing worldwide species occurrences.